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Congressman Urges BP President to Commit Ritual Suicide
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 16, 2010
Modified Jun 16, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 16, 2010
Modified Jun 16, 2010
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Remember last week when scientists estimated that twice as much oil was gushing into the Gulf as previously thought? It's actually twice as much as that. Maybe 60,000 barrels (2.5 million gallons) of oil a day are spewing from the broken well, and who knows—one scientist on the government’s Flow Rate Technical Group says it could be as much as 100,000 barrels a day, which is BP's own worst estimate. That's enough black gold for every dolphin, turtle, and walrus in the Gulf to pack up and move to Beverly. (Hills, that is.) They certainly can't stay here. Meanwhile, one Louisiana congressmen says BP execs should at least have the decency to commit ritual suicide.
At yesterday's congressional hearing, Rep. Joseph Cao "went medieval" on BP President Lamar McKay, as the Daily News put it. "Mr. Stearns asked McKay to resign," said Rep. Cao. "Well, in the Asian culture we do things differently. During the Samurai days, we just give you a knife and ask you to commit harakiri. My constituents are still debating on what they want me to ask you to do." Whatever they decide, it should definitely be on Pay-Per-View. (Here's YouTube video of Rep. Cao's time on the mic.)
This morning President Obama will meet Wednesday with BP executives face-to-face for the first time, and will pressure the company to set up escrow accounts to compensate all those who the president said have been "harmed as a result of his company's recklessness." Senate Democrats have called for $20 billion to be set aside, but "people close to BP" tell the Times "that as asset-rich as the global oil giant is, its holdings are not so liquid that it can instantly set aside as many billions of dollars as the White House and leaders in Congress are seeking... BP officials are adamant that the company should not be liable for the lost wages of oil workers laid off because of the six-month moratorium that the Obama administration imposed on deep water offshore drilling after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire."
Before his 18-minute address from the oval office last night, Obama announced the appointment of Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department official, to head the Minerals Management Service, which is supposed to regulate offshore drilling but has been marred by corruption. And in his speech (transcript here; video after the jump), Obama sought to demonstrate that the catastrophe is irrefutable proof that America needs a bold new clean-energy policy for the future. Details were scant (no mention of carbon emissions) but he called on Washington to "seize the moment to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels... Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny." Definitely—we'll quit as soon as we take just one more little road trip this summer.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Tagged
BP
gulf spill
harakiri
obama oval office transcript
oil spill
suicide
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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